Marveling over the effect she had on this man, she released one of her breasts then ran her hand down her body. His fiery eyes watched her every movement as she touched herself. When she trailed her fingers back up her belly to her chest, he tracked her like a hawk hunting a mouse.
When she clasped her breast again, the fire in his eyes deepened and he growled. That sound touched something inside her, and unable to take anymore, she rested her palms on his chest as she rode him to completion.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
“I’ll see you tonight,” Dante said as he kissed Cassidy.
She twisted her hands into his shirt and tugged him closer before releasing him. “Be careful.”
“I’m only going to talk to Jasmine’s superintendent.”
“Be. Careful,” she enunciated.
He grinned and kissed the tip of her nose before reluctantly pulling away and descending the steps of her building to the sidewalk. She almost shouted at him to come back as he walked away. She would have gone with him, but she had to be at work in an hour, and after leaving early last night, she couldn’t show up late tonight.
She reminded herself this wasn’t dangerous and he could take care of himself, but she still didn’t like it. Cassidy waved to him before opening the door and entering the building.
Dante flagged down a taxi and slid into the back seat. After giving the driver Jasmine’s address, he sat back to watch the city pass in a blur of buildings, sidewalks, and pedestrians strolling the streets.
When they pulled up outside the five-story brick building, Dante removed his wallet and paid the woman behind the wheel. “Thank you.”
She took his money and turned away. Dante climbed out of the vehicle and strode toward the building. Neatly trimmed shrubs and blooming plants lined the outside of the building; the neatly manicured lawn was freshly mowed. The few cars parked in the spots out front were all newer models.
He climbed the stairs to the glass door at the top and studied the keypad under the protective overhang. Last night, Preston gave him the code to enter, and he punched it in again now. When the buzzer sounded, he pulled the door open and entered the clean, brightly lit entry hall.
Like last night, Dante detected the aroma of lemons. Last night, he assumed it was someone cleaning or maybe baking, but it might be one of those diffusers, and someone was obsessed with lemons.
However, the lemon aroma was faint as the stronger scents of pancakes, coffee, and bacon filled the air. The familiar smells brought a smile to his face; he missed bacon. The freshly painted dove gray walls shone under the glow of the recessed lighting, and the blue, industrial carpet looked new.
Dante walked to the end of the hall and the apartment at the end. Lifting his hand, he knocked loudly and waited for a response; there was none.
Leaning closer to the door, he strained to hear any noise coming from inside as he knocked again and waited. The door across the hall opened, and a middle-aged woman with a toddler in her arms leaned out.
“Are you looking for Arnold?” she asked.
“Is he the superintendent?” Dante inquired.
“Yeah.”
“Then yes, I’m looking for Arnold.”
“I haven’t seen him in a couple of days.”
Dante kept his surprise over this revelation hidden. Everything he’d seen about this building and the property indicated it was well maintained by someone who put in a lot of time here. “Do you often go days at a time without seeing him?”
The woman shifted the toddler on her hip as uneasiness filled her face. “No. I’ve lived here for five years, and I’ve talked to him every day. He must have had a family emergency or something.”
“Would he have left without telling anyone?”
“I wouldn’t have thought so; it’s never happened before. Maybe he didn’t have the time to let anyone know he had to leave for a bit. I hope everything’s okay and he’ll be home soon.”
“I’m sure everything’s fine,” he assured her. When she remained standing in the doorway, Dante smiled at her. “Thank you.”
“Oh… ah… yeah,” she muttered.
She ducked back into her apartment and closed the door. He took no offense when the locks clicked into place. Dante turned his attention back to the superintendent’s doorway, but he didn’t bother to knock again.
Maybe Arnold did have a family emergency, but Dante wasn’t buying that. It was a little strange that Jasmine and Arnold would vanish from the same building. But why would Arnold go missing weeks after Jasmine disappeared from Preston’s life? Had Jasmine only recently abandoned her apartment?
One thing was for sure, he wasn’t going to discover any answers standing in this hallway. Grasping the door handle, Dante looked up and down the hall before turning the knob. He expected to have to put his shoulder against the door to break through the locks, but the knob turned easily, and the door swung open.
Standing in the doorway, Dante craned his head to see inside. The door was open, but he still couldn’t walk in there unless invited. Lifting his hand, he pushed it toward the apartment; when it traveled past the doorway, an uneasy feeling twisted in his stomach.
Unless Arnold had moved out or was dead, Dante shouldn’t be able to enter the apartment, but he stepped inside. He closed the door behind him and studied the apartment. Judging by the family photos on the wall, the books sitting on the couch’s end table, and the plants hanging from the windows, Arnold hadn’t moved out.
Dante discovered that all Arnold’s clothes and toiletries remained behind. He even found a few hundred dollars tucked into the sock drawer. No, Arnold hadn’t moved out, but he wasn’t alive either. However, he hadn’t died here as there was no sign of a struggle or a body.
Before leaving the apartment, Dante found a rag and wiped his fingerprints off everything he’d touched. His prints were still on file
